1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bearing lubricator and, more particularly, to a detachable wheel bearing lubricator that facilitates easy replacement or refilling thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exists many various types of lubrication devices for lubricating bearings within a wheel hub. Of the many various types common in the industry today, many require the use of a grease gun or other additional device to refill or repack the lubricating device with lubricant. Other types of lubricating devices are of complex designs utilizing gas pressures to continually force a lubricant onto the bearings in the wheel hub.
However, no current bearing lubricator designs are readily detachable from the wheel hub after being initially installed. Thus, any replacement of the lubricators currently available today is difficult and troublesome. Hence, most users do not attempt to remove the bearing lubricators and are reduced to being forced to carry a grease gun or other additional device in order to refill the lubricator when replenishing is required.
Representative of the various types of lubricator designs currently available today in the industry are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,423,399; 5,303,800; 5,178,233; 5,054,859; 4,941,550; 4,293,056; 4,190,133; 4,106,816; and 4,058,185, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,058,185 and 4,190,133, issued to Ploeger, the lubricators require the use of a grease gun for refilling as well as do not provide for ready removal from the wheel hub thereby rendering replacement and lubricant replenishment difficult and troublesome. The wheel bearing lubricators as disclosed in the Ploeger patents are generally self-lubricating devices that utilize a spring-loaded plate member which is slidably mounted in the lubricator body so to continually force lubricant onto the wheel bearings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,816, issued to August, is another example of a wheel bearing lubricator that utilizes a spring-loaded plate member to continually force lubricant onto wheel bearings within a wheel hub. Similarly, the bearing lubricator as disclosed in August also lacks providing for ready removal from the wheel hub to facilitate easy replacement or lubricant replenishment.
Other wheel bearing lubricators are designed to be pressure-sensitive and, hence, respond to changes in pressure in order to force lubricant onto the wheel bearing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,800, issued to Persson, discloses such a wheel bearing lubricator. Again, the wheel bearing lubricator disclosed in Persson does not provide for ready removal for replacement or lubricant replenishment.
Thus, despite the many various types of wheel bearing lubricators available today, none of the lubricators provide for readily removal from the wheel hub for easy lubricant replenishment without requiring a grease gun or complete replacement with a fully-charged wheel bearing lubricator.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the wheel bearing lubricator art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable wheel bearing lubricator that provides for ready removal from the wheel hub so to facilitate easy lubricant replenishment without the need of a grease gun or other additional device.
Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable wheel bearing lubricator that can be easily removed from the wheel hub and replaced with a second fully-charged wheel bearing lubricator.
Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable wheel bearing lubricator that utilizes an adaptor that releasably couples the wheel bearing lubricator to a wheel hub.
Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable wheel bearing lubricator that can be fully charged with a lubricant prior to being coupled to the wheel hub.
Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable wheel bearing lubricator that utilizes a piston member that is capable of being locked in position to prevent any premature discharge of lubricant prior to being coupled to a wheel hub.
Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable wheel bearing lubricator for lubricating a wheel hub having an outer end, an inner end and an axle assembly having bearings retained therein, the detachable wheel bearing lubricator comprising in combination: a lubrication means for providing a supply of lubricant to the axle assembly retained within the wheel hub; an adaptor means for releasably coupling the lubrication means relative to the wheel hub, the adaptor means being coupled to the outer end of the wheel hub and the lubrication means being releasably coupled to the adaptor means, whereby the lubrication means facilitates the continual lubrication of the axle assembly retained within the wheel hub until the supply of lubricant is depleted whereupon the lubrication means may then be uncoupled from the adaptor means to facilitate the replacement thereof and the replenishing of the supply of lubricant.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the summary of the invention, and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.